Friday, September 13, 2013

UPDATE- DOL Announces Non-Enforcement of Marketplace/Exchange Notice


 
PPACA requires employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act to provide a notice about the upcoming health marketplaces (also called exchanges) to their employees. The notice is due Oct. 1, 2013. On Sept. 11, 2013 the Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it will not penalize employers that do not provide this notice. As a practical matter, this means that providing the notice is now optional.

Employers that have already provided the notice do not need to do anything - it is fine to provide the notice. The change simply is that the DOL will not penalize employers that fail to provide the notice. 

Employers that have not yet provided the notice may either distribute the notice or not, as they prefer. Employers that want to increase awareness of the marketplace (perhaps because they expect that some of their employees will need or want to purchase from the marketplace) may still want to provide the notice. Employers with complicated distribution situations, or that are concerned that the notices may generate questions the employer is not staffed to answer, may prefer to not distribute the notice.

FAQ on Notice of Coverage Options

Q: Can an employer be fined for failing to provide employees with notice about the Affordable Care Act's new Health Insurance Marketplace?

A: No. If your company is covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act, it should provide a written notice to its employees about the Health Insurance Marketplace by October 1, 2013, but there is no fine or penalty under the law for failing to provide the notice.
The notice should inform employees:
  •   About the Health Insurance Marketplace; That, depending on their income and what coverage may be offered by the employer, they may be able to get lower cost private insurance in the Marketplace;
    and
  •   That if they buy insurance through the Marketplace, they may lose the employer contribution (if any) to their health benefits

The U.S. Department of Labor has two model notices to help employers comply. There is one model for employers who do not offer a health plan and another model for employers who offer a health plan or some or all employees:


The model notices are also available in Spanish and MS Word format at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/healthreform/.

Employers may use one of these models, as applicable, or a modified version. More compliance assistance information is available in a Technical Release issued by the US Department of Labor.

This information is taken from the Department of Labor Website.  http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq-noticeofcoverageoptions.html

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